The weird medical condition that causes this woman to faint during sex

Sex can be tricky enough as it is, what with awkward angles and new partners and stuff, without having to worry about fainting during the deed itself. But for one unlucky girl, 28-year-old Laura Crow, that's a reality she has to deal with thanks to the bizarre medical conditions she's been diagnosed with.

Laura was told she has an unusual illness called postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) - which is actually the same thing Deliciously Ella was diagnosed with, and claims her clean eating cured her of - back in 2011. It occurred following her first pregnancy, and she has been dealing with it ever since.

The syndrome causes her heart rate to beat at around 110 beats per minute - approximately 40 beats higher than the average person. Whenever Laura exposed to particularly exciting things (like sex, for example), her body creates adrenaline and this causes her heart rate to sky-rocket to 180 beats per minute, so she passes out.

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What a bloody nightmare.

Speaking to Caters, Laura explained that she regularly faints while having sex with her husband, 28-year-old Ben. "Whenever I have sex, there's a 50/50 chance I'll faint," she says.

"The fainting can happen anywhere, any time – but with PoTS it's usually a case of gravity taking over, so the best way for us to do it is missionary, with me lying down."

Recalling the first time it happened, Laura says it was "a massive shock for both of us", and I can't say I'm surprised. How would you react if your partner fell unconscious mid-intercourse? It would be a little panic-inducing to say the least.

"Ben gets very upset – when I wake up he is very distressed, even though he never continues after I've passed out," Laura explains, adding that thankfully it doesn't have too much of an impact on the couple's relationship overall. "He's the strongest rock I could ever ask for," she says.

Laura and Ben have a 50% of a fainting incident every time they have sex

Caters

Other triggers for Laura collapsing include being over-tired, having an irregular temperature, laughing too hard or doing exercise, which sounds like the ideal excuse to steer clear from the gym. You wouldn't want to pass out on the treadmill, would you?

To begin with, Laura was fainting 7 or 8 times a day, but since having a further two children she notes that her symptoms have eased, and now it only occurs once or twice a day.

"Laughing is tricky," she says. "Ben is a tickler every time he tickles me I laugh myself to a faint! But I'm not going to stop laughing or having sex in the name of PoTS."

Catriona Harvey-JennerDigital Features EditorCat is Cosmopolitan UK's features editor covering women's issues, health and current affairs.

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